One class of table card games, such as many forms of poker, involves a number of players around a table in a contest against each other over a number of games to determine a winner among the players. In the case of poker, the winner is typically the single player taking the whole pot collected from all eliminated players. Such “player against player” games have an appeal that “player against dealer” cannot offer, since the play of the game involves the skill and luck of all players against all players over an extended period of play during which many events and challenges take place and players are eliminated. This appeal makes such games more interesting as a spectator event, and televised table card tournaments are known in the art.
Many such table card games are played in casinos and gaming halls in which a dealer, who does not participate in playing the game, manages dealing of cards, handling of bets and payouts or transfer of winnings among players. When five to ten players at a table participate in such a game, considerable time is spent playing the game with some players eliminated from the table. During this time, the ratio of tables and dealers to players is much less efficient in terms of overhead.
Texas Holdem is one type of poker that can be played at a table and is presently very popular. In each game, each player is dealt two cards face down and then five community cards are turned up on the board. Each player makes the best five card hand using any combination of the seven cards. There are four betting rounds. Each player must bet or raise at each round. To start a new hand, two “blind” bets are put up or “posted”. The player immediately to the left of the dealer puts up or “posts” the small blind. The player to the left of the small blind posts the big blind that is a larger bet amount. The rest of the players do not put any money to start the hand. Because the dealer rotates around the table, each player will eventually act as the big hand and, small blind hand dealer. Each player is then dealt two cards face down with the player on the small blind receiving the first card and the player with the dealer button getting the last card. The first betting round begins with the player to the left of the big blind either putting in an amount to call the blind bet, or putting in a larger amount to raise the big blind, or folding his hand. The betting goes around the table in the usual sequence until the player who posted the small blind who can call the bet by putting in a bet since a small bet was already posted. The last person to act is the big blind. If no one has raised, the dealer will ask if they would like the option, this means the big blind has the option to raise or just “check”. By checking, the player does not put in any more money.
After the first betting round is completed, three cards are dealt and turned face up in the middle of the table. This is known as the “flop”. These are community cards used by all the players. Another betting round begins with the first active player to the left of the dealer button. The bet for this round is again set to a predetermined amount. When the betting round after the flop is completed, the dealer turns a fourth card face up in the middle of the table. This is called the “turn”. The bet after the turn is now a predetermined amount and begins again with the first active player to the left of the dealer. Following the betting round for the turn, the dealer will turn a fifth and final card face up. This card is called the “river”, and the final betting round begins with a predetermined amount being the minimum bet.
To determine the winner, the players may use any combination of their two hole cards and the five cards on the board or “table” to form the highest five-card hand. In the case that the best hand of all players is the five cards on the board, the active players will split the pot. A sixth card is never used to break a tie. Texas Holdem is an easy game to learn, and yet is difficult enough to master to be interesting. Many betting opportunities are provided per game. The use of the flop makes the game particularly interesting since the two player held hole cards determine in most cases a differential or variation to a common core provided by the flop. In poker games without community cards, the player hands are of diverse composition and scoring, while in Texas Holdem, the players vie to make the best completion of the flop. For spectators and players alike, the attention becomes more focused, namely on expectations for the best completion of, or for complementary cards, to the flop for each active player.